1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus equipped having image processing functions.
2. Description of Related Art
To execute image formation in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, the recording medium such as paper and a recording material such as toner or ink are necessary, but the used recording medium and recording material are consumables, thereby incurring a running cost. Therefore, to cover the incurred running costs, an apparatus is proposed having a billing function for collecting money from a user using the image forming apparatus (see, e.g., Patent Document 1: Published Unexamined Patent Application No. hei5(1993)-89362). Furthermore, it is proposed that technology be used in such an apparatus, such that users can be limited a number of times each user can use a certain apparatus can also be limited by specifying the user.
In recent years, multifunction printers having various functions, such as a facsimile function to send scanned text, a scanning function for scanning text, a copy function for copying scanned text, or the like in addition to a printing function of a printer, have been spreading. In such a multifunction printer, however, in a case where sending of the text by the facsimile function or scanning of the text by the scanning function is executed, regardless of whether or not consumables such as the recording medium or the recording material are used, the user that does not have permission to use consumables is not only unable to use the functions that use consumables, but is unable to use all of the functions, including functions that do not use consumables, so that there is a problem of inconvenience for the user.